GAME REPORT

Julius Jenkins bounced back from his off-night in the semi-finals to lead Oldenburg to third place

TURNING POINT: Julius Jenkins sunk a three-pointer from the left wing with 2:24 left in the third quarter to give Oldenburg the lead again, 55-54, after they had been matched for intensity on both ends of the floor from BCM and trailed by as many as seven points; the German side would never look back after that.

GAME HERO: Jenkins scored 11 of his joint game-high 22 points in the third quarter, just in time to prevent BCM from assuming control of the encounter after they had taken their biggest lead in the game.

STATS DON'T LIE: BCM had three five-minute stretches in which they scored 14 points, but also three others where they managed as little as six, four and a paltry two; Oldenburg might not have looked like the most consistent side in the world, but their offensive output did not suffer from such striking fluctuations.

EWE Baskets Oldenburg bounced back on Sunday from their disappointing semi-final loss to Pinar Karsiyaka with an 84-76 win over BCM Gravelines Dunkerque to claim third place in the EuroChallenge Final Four in Izmir.

They did so in the face of adversity too, as Rickey Paulding, sidelined with back spasms, and Konrad Wysocki, who picked up an injury in Friday's semi-final, could not take to the floor.

While there was little doubt that both teams wanted to leave Turkey with the consolation of a bronze medal, the German side were the only ones that started off entirely focused on their target.

Oldenburg scored the first six points in the clash, went up 12-4 and led for 17 minutes in the first half, despite the scoreboard showing BCM on top, 38-36, at the half-time interval.

BCM used a 12-2 run in the last four minutes of the second quarter to gain that lead, and they carried on with intent during the first five minutes upon the two opponents' return from the locker rooms.

But that nine-minute stretch bridging the two halves was really the best BCM were going to show on the night.

Once Julius Jenkins restored Oldenburg in the lead shortly before the end of the third frame, BCM's effectiveness on the offensive end dropped again against a German defence that remained as hard-nosed as it had been since tip-off.

Oldenburg pulled away more or less smoothly from that point onwards and in reality resolved the game with a couple of minutes to spare before the final buzzer.

Jenkins paved the way for the winners with his 22 points and three assists, Ronald Burrell finished with 14 points on 62.5 shooting from the floor while the frontcourt duo of Adam Chubb and Robin Smeulders chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

BCM's defeat was especially harsh on Ludovic Vaty, who already had 10 points and four rebounds by the time he went to the bench for a well-deserved rest 1:30 before the end of the first quarter.

The French big man finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds while Dwight Buycks had 13 points and Yannick Bokolo 10 in losing efforts.

COACH QUOTES

Gravelines Dunkerque head coach Christian Monschau:"It was difficult for both teams to play their best game after two tough semi-finals, where both teams were close to winning. It was difficult to reconcentrate and it the decisive moments we were lacking energy. However I think that both teams showed a good game for the respect of the season; it was not a bad game to watch."

Gravelines Dunkerque player Julius Johnson:"We wanted to win this game, but unfortunately it did not pan out this way. We saw four very good teams here. We wanted to end the Final Four on a high and have a good rhythm for the French championship. Now that we lost the game, we need to regain our confidence and focus on the domestic play-offs."

Oldenburg head coach Sebastian Machowski:"For us it was important to come out of this game without injuries, which we accomplished. We also wanted to enter the German play-offs with a win; we also managed that. Hopefully we can carry on with this feeling."

Oldenburg player Julius Jenkins:"We came out with our minds set to leave Izmir on a positive note. I played much better than on Friday; I think everyone filled their role perfectly today."

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COACH QUOTES

Gravelines Dunkerque head coach Christian Monschau:"It was difficult for both teams to play their best game after two tough semi-finals, where both teams were close to winning. It was difficult to reconcentrate and it the decisive moments we were lacking energy. However I think that both teams showed a good game for the respect of the season; it was not a bad game to watch."

Gravelines Dunkerque player Julius Johnson:"We wanted to win this game, but unfortunately it did not pan out this way. We saw four very good teams here. We wanted to end the Final Four on a high and have a good rhythm for the French championship. Now that we lost the game, we need to regain our confidence and focus on the domestic play-offs."

Oldenburg head coach Sebastian Machowski:"For us it was important to come out of this game without injuries, which we accomplished. We also wanted to enter the German play-offs with a win; we also managed that. Hopefully we can carry on with this feeling."

Oldenburg player Julius Jenkins:"We came out with our minds set to leave Izmir on a positive note. I played much better than on Friday; I think everyone filled their role perfectly today."